Rug fringe forming sewing machine



Nov. 12, 1968 J. D. BROCK RUG FRINGE FORMING SEWING MACHINE Fild Aug. 14, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR JOHN D. BROCK C a mm,@4mwm ATTORNEYS Nov. 12, 1968 J. D. BROCK RUG FRINGE FORMING SEWING MACHINE 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Aug. 14, 1967 JOHN D. BROQK @v izzmn m QMy,

ATTORNEYS United States Patent Ofice 3,410,236 Patented Nov. 12, 1968 3,410,236 .RUG-FRINGE FORMING SEWING MACHINE John D. Brock, Rtell, Resaca, Ga. 30735 Continuation-impart of application Ser. No. 517,384,

Dec. 29, 1965. This application Aug. 14, 1967, Ser. No.665,943 e 4 Claims. (Cl. 112-64) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A pair of sewing machines are mounted to opposite sides of a fixed horizontally disposed bed plate and con structed to operate in conjunction with a yarn carrying shuttle tube which is reciprocated on the bed plate and normal to the direction of movement of the needle assemblies of the sewing machines to effect a weaving operation by which a rug fringe is formed having a woven border and a fringe on one side; The fringe is formed by looping the yarn carried in the shuttle'tube and causing the loops to-be'cut as the border is advanced. a

Background of the invention 'The present invention relates to a machine for making arug fringe which comprises a woven band having a loose fringe on one side only, and is a continuation-inpart of my copending application, Ser. No. 517,384ffiled Dec. 29, 1965, now abandoned.

In making rugs, resort is often made to use of tassels or other fringe-type material for enhancing the appearance of the rug. These tassels are generally individually fabricated from strands of yarn after which they may be attached to a suitable border which is then sewn to the rug. The present invention obviates the need for separately fabricating rug borders and tassels, as well as the step -of attaching the tassels to the rug border, and results in a considerable saving in time, labor and cost in making rugs.

Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide afringe forming sewing machine for fabricating rug fringe materials wherein the fringe is constructed integral with the rug border.

A further object of the present invention is to provide an improved machine for making a rug fringe comprising a woven band with a loose fringe on one side only.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an improved fringe forming sewing machine wherein the mechanism performs its operations more rapidly than with conventional machines.

Yet another object of the present invention is to provide an improved fringe forming sewing machine for fabricating rug fringe having an open-ended hollow shuttle tube operating in conjunction with opposed reciprocable needle assemblies of the machine to cause the border yarn to be interlaced by the fringe yarn which is looped on one side and cut as the border is advanced.

In accordance with the present invention there is pro vided-in combination a first and a second sewing machine mounted on opposite sides of a common bed plate and having opposed needle assemblies, each of which includes a plurality of yarn carrying needles for forming a woven border. The needles of one assembly are laterally offset with respect to the needles of the other assembly and are driven in opposite directions normal to and beyondthe common bed plate to a'meshing positionfA shuttle tube carryingyarn for forming a fringe is reciprocated transversely of the needles along the common bed plate to cause the border yarn to be interlaced by the fringe yarn which is formed in a loop on one side of the border yarn and cut to form the fringe as the yarn material is advanced. In this manner, there is formed a rug fringe comprising a woven band having a loose fringe on one-side only.

Other objects of the present invention, together with the attendant advantages, will be readily apparent from the following description of one embodiment of the invention. While the specification concludes with claims particularly pointing out and distinctly claiming the subject matter of the present invention, the invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the several views.

Brief description of the drawing In the drawings: 1

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary front elevational view of a rug fringe forming sewing machine embodying the present invention with the needle drive housing illustrated in outline form for clarity;

FIG. 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view taken from line 2-2 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary plan view of the hook and knife mechanism of FIG. 1, turned through 90 in a clockwise direction; and

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the hook and knife mechanism of FIG. 3.

Preferred embodiment of the invention Referring to the drawings and in particular to FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral designates generally the rug fringe forming sewing machine of the present invention which includes a base plate supporting member 11 and a fixed horizontally disposed bed plate 12 spaced with respect thereto. Power to drive the various driven components of the machine is derived from a suitable power source such as, for example, motor 13 mounted to base plate 11 and arranged to drive a 30 to 1 speed reduction unit 14. To this end, shaft 15 of the driving motor has keyed thereto a drive pulley 16 adapted to drive pulley 17' affixed to the input shaft 18 of the speed reduction unit through connecting belt 17. Power from the speed reduction unit 14 is taken from its output shaft 20 by means of a belt drive comprising pulley 21 atfixed to output shaft 20, pulley 22 keyed to main drive shaft 23 and continuous belt 24.

Main drive shaft 23 is rotatably supported by a pair of pillow blocks 25 and is operatively connected to drive in timed relationship a feed roller 26, reciprocating needle assemblies 27 and 28 of the sewing machines mounted on opposite sides of'the bed plate 12, a shuttle bar 29 and @a loop and knife assembly 30.

For driving the loop and knife assembly, main drive shaft 23 has keyed thereto a 2l-tooth sprocket 31 which drives through chain 32 a sprocket 33 keyed to shaft 34. Shaft 34 is rotatably supported by a pair of pillow blocks 35 and drives crank 36 fixed thereto at one end. Crank 36 is operatively connected to crank 37 through connecting rod 38, and crank 37 is directly connected to one end of an upwardly extending cam shaft 39 supported for rotary reciprocal movement to effect operation of the loop and knife mechanism 30. To this end, cam shaft 39 is supported by conventional bearing members 40 and 41 conveniently mounted to a downwardly extending bnacket support 42 secured to the underside of bed plate 12 and drives the loop and knife assembly eccentric cam 43.

Driving power to the feed roller 26 and the upper and lower reciprocating needle assemblies 27 and 28 respectively, of the sewing machines is taken from main drive shaft 23 through a 20-tooth, IO-pitch miter gear 44 which drives an identical miter gear 45 affixed to drive shaft 46. Drive shaft 46 is rotatably supported by a pair of pillow 3 blocks 47 and 48 mounted to bed plate 12 and has keyed thereto a l-tooth driving sprocket 49. Sprocket 49 is in turn connected to a -tooth sprocket 50 carried on shaft 51 and driven through chain 52. Shaft 51 is rotatably supported within the main housing, the outline of which is indicated by dashed lines, by spaced guide members 53, 54 and 55 and is connected to the upper needle assembly 27 to effect reciprocal movement thereof.

To this end, shaft 51 has affixed thereto a drive crank 56 arranged to drive an adjacent crank 57 connected to vertical shaft 58 through pin 59. Vertical shaft 58 is supported within the main housing by a pair of guide members 60 and 61 and is reciprocally driven upon rotation of shaft 51 to impart corresponding upward and downward movement to a plurality of needles 62 supported on shaft 58 by needle bar 63.

For clarity, the casing of the sewing machines which project from the bed plate is shown in outline form by dash lines. It should be apparent, as seen from the drawings, that two machines are combined and driven through a common drive to effect the intended operation.

The lower needle assembly 28 is identical in construction and operation to the upper needle assembly 27. Driving power to the lower needle assembly 28 is taken from a power take-off on the upper needle assembly drive shaft 51. The power take-off comprises a driving sprocket 64 keyed to shaft 51 and chain 65 which drives a corresponding sprocket 66 keyed to the lower needle assembly drive shaft 67. Rota-tion of shaft 67 causes reciprocal motion to be imparted to vertical shaft 68 of the lower needle assembly through cranks 69 and 70. Shaft 68 supports a plurality of needles 71 mounted to needle bar 72. Needles 62 and 71 are set-off laterally with respect to each other to provide a meshing effect upon reciprocation of the needle assemblies.

A power take-off connected to the lower needle as sembly drive shaft 67 drives feed roller 26. The power take-off includes a IO-tooth drive sprocket 73 keyed to shaft 67 and arranged to drive a 30-tooth sprocket 74 through chain 75. Sprocket 74 is affixed to shaft 76 which is a jack shaft rotatably supported by pillow blocks 77 and 78 on raised platform 79. Jack shaft 76 also has afiixed thereto a 26-tooth sprocket 80 arranged to drive a 48-tooth sprocket 81 through chain 82. Sprocket 81 is keyed to the feed roller drive shaft 83 which is rotatably supported by pillow block 84 and flange bearing 85. Flange bearing 85 is supported from a plate member 86 extending from bed plate 12 by a pair of bolts 87 and sleeve spacers 88, only one of each being shown. Pressure for feed roller 26 is supplied through a conventional pressure roller 89 mounted to shaft 90 which is rotatably supported by two flange bearings 91 and 92 on member 86.

As more clearly shown in FIG. 2, shuttle bar 29 is reciprocally driven by crank 93 connected at one end to the main drive shaft 23. The other end of crank 93 is pivotally connected to one end of connecting rod 94 by means of a pin 95 while the other end of said rod is pivoted on a pin 96 secured to shuttle bar 29. In this manner shuttle bar 29 reciprocated between a retracted and extended position to carry the fringe forming yarn past the border forming upper and lower needle assemblies 27 and 28.

Roller bearing 97 mounted on pin 96 and operating in guide 98 supported on plate 12 cooperate to guide the shuttle bar 29 in its horizontal reciprocating movement. Shuttle bar 29 has affixed at its free end a conventional hollow shuttle tube 99 provided with an aperture 100 through which the fringe forming yarn is passed. Shuttle tube 99 is guided in its extended position by roller hearing 101 to insure that the shuttle yarn is properly positioned at the loop and knife assembly 30 for engagement by a loop hook.

' In operation, the yarn for forming the woven border is supported on cones in a conventional creel assembly which is disposed near the machine and fed from the creel assembly through a yarn tensioning device to jerkers 102 and 103 mounted to shaft 58 and 68, respectively. The creel assembly and yarn have been omitted from the drawings for clarity; however, it should be apparent that the individual strands of yarn from the cones pass throughthe jerkers 102 and 103 and are threaded to the corresponding needles in the upper and lower needle assemblies 27 and 28 which are disposed in opposed relationship above and below the plane of travel of the shuttle tube 99.

Energization of motor 13 provides power to the main drive shaft 23 which causes shafts 51 and 67 to be rotated which in turn cause vertical shafts 58 and 68 to reciprocate 180 out of phase while shuttletube 99 is driven back and forth. Shuttle tube 99 makes one cycle as the needlesare driven from their extended position to their meshing position and another cycle as the needles are returnedto the extended position. As needles 62 and 71 are thus displaced in opposite directions, the depth of their stroke is such that the two sets of needles when displaced toward each other have sufficient vertical overlap with respect to a common horizontal reference plane to effect a weaving action with the interlaced fringe yarn. As hereinbefore described, the needles themselves are offset laterally with respect to each other to allow a meshing effect between the upper and lower needles when the needles are displaced toward each other.

The yarn for forming the fringe on one side of the woven border may be held in the same creel assembly that carries the yarn for forming the woven border, but is fed directly through a guide eye 104 into shuttle tube 99 through aperture 100. As the shuttle bar 2-9 is reciprocated, the yarn is interlaced with the strands carried by the needles and is caught by the loop and knife assembly 30 at the end of each shuttle stroke, thereby forming a loop as the shuttle bar retracts. The loop is held on a hook until the next shuttle stroke, when it is pulled through the knife portion of the loop and knife assembly 30 by the advancing action of feedroller 26, thereby causing the loop to be cut to form the fringe integral with the woven border. If desired, the loose strands of the fringe may then be bunched and formed into tassels. The timing of the apparatus is such that the shuttle bar 29 completes two cycles for every cycle of the reciprocating needle assemblies 27 and 28, thereby producing the border which consists of a woven band having a loose fringe on one side only.

The details of the loop and knife assembly 30 are illustrated in FIGS. 3 and 4 wherein the direction of feed of the woven border is indicated by the arrow. As hereinbefore described, cam shaft 39 is operatively connected to cam 43 to impart thereto a reciprocating action upon rotation of the main drive shaft 23. The reciprocating action of cam shaft 39 actuates the connecting rod 105 which is connected at one end to the cam 43 and at its other end to cam lever 106 and connecting link 107 through pin 108. Cam lever 106 operates a shaft 109 which extends vertically through an opening 110 provided in a horizontally disposed support bracket 111 which forms an extension at the end of bed plate 12. Shaft 109 is rotatably supported relative to bracket 111 by means of a sleeve 112. The extending end of shaft 109 supports a hook mounting bracket 113 which is secured thereto by screws 114. Adjustably positioned on hook mounting bracket 113 is a hook arm 115 which is provided with a hook 116 at one end to snag the loop yarn from the shuttle tube as it is retracted. Hook arm 115 includes an extension 117 which supports a bearing 118 and is slotted as at 119 to facilitate adjustment of the hook arm on bracket 113 by means of screw 120. Hook 116 may be fastened to the hook arm by means of screws or rivets 121 or may be fabricated in tegral therewith.

' Connecting link 107 is connected to a knife cam lever 122 through pin 123. Cam lever 122 controls the cutting of the loop yarn and is secured to the knife cam shaft 124 which operates the knife arm 125 through connecting link 126 and eccentric 126'. Knife arm 125 is pivotally supported intermediate its ends on a pivot pin 127 held in bearing 118. A cutting element 128 is secured to the knife arm 125 and so disposed as to engage and cut the loop yarn held by hook 116 in response to feeding action of the feed roller 26. Tension for the knife is supplied by a spring 129 mounted around pivot pin 127 and operating between bearing 118 and a collar 130 secured to the end of the pivot pin.

It will thus be seen that there is provided by the present invention a simple yet efficient rug forming sewing machine for forming rug fringe materials which comprise a woven band having a fringe on one side only. Although only one particular embodiment of the invention has been described and illustrated, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that various modifications may be made, and it is therefore intended by the appended claims to cover all such modifications which fall Within the scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a pair of sewing machines disposed on opposite sides of a common fixed bed plate and having opposed sets of yarn carrying needles disposed on opposite sides of said common fixed bed plate and arranged for opposite reciprocating movement in a direction normal thereto, the needles of one set being laterally offset with respect to the needles of the other set so as to be in meshing relationship when moved in opposite directions until the thread carrying ends of said needles extend beyond the plane of said bed plate, a hollow yarn carrying shuttle tube disposed for reciprocating movement along said fixed bed plate, common drive means operatively connected to said sets of needles and said shuttle tube for reciprocably driving said sets of needles in said opposite directions and said shuttle bar in timed relationship to cause said needles to mesh and the needle yarns to be interlaced by the shuttle yarn thereby forming a woven border, a loop and knife assembly mounted on said bed plate and including hook means adapted to be actuated for hooking the shuttle yarn upon each stroke of said shuttle bar and a cutting element adjacent said hook means arranged to be actuated to sever the shuttle yarn hooked by said hook means to thereby form a loose fringe on one side of the woven border, a feed roller operatively connected to said drive means for feeding the woven border along said bed plate in a direction normal to the direction of movement of the shuttle tube, and means operatively connected to said drive means for actuating said hook means and said cutting element.

2. A machine for forming a rug fringe as set forth in claim 1 wherein said common drive means includes a rotatable main drive shaft, means connecting said opposite sets of needles to said drive shaft for reciprocating said sets of needles in said opposite directions, a crank arm having one end connected to said drive shaft and the other end to said shuttle tube for reciprocating said shuttle tube in response to rotation of said drive shaft, motor means for rotating said shaft and said means connecting said opposite sets of needles being such as to cause said needles to be driven at half the rate of said shuttle tube.

3. A machine for forming a rug fringe having a woven border and a fringe on one side only comprising in combination a first and a second sewing machine mounted on opposite sides of a common, fixed horizontally disposed bed plate, each having a vertically reciprocable needle assembly each of which includes a plurality of yarn carrying needles, means for reciprocating said assemblies simultaneously in opposite directions and normal to said horizontally disposed bed plate, the needles of one assembly being laterally offset with respect to the needles of the other assembly so as to be in meshing relationship when displaced in a direction toward each other and beyond the plane of said bed plate, a shuttle bar disposed for reciprocating movement along said bed plate, a hollow yarn carrying shuttle tube affixed to said shuttle bar on one side of said needle assembly, means for reciprocably driving said shuttle bar along said bed plate to cause the yarn carried by said shuttle tube to pass between the yarn carried by said opposed needle assemblies and to the other side thereof to form the woven border of the rug fringe, bearing means supported to said bed plate and disposed on said other side of said needle assemblies for guiding the shuttle tube, bearing means supported to said bed plate on said one side of said needle assemblies for guiding the shuttle bar, a looper supported to said bed plate for hooking the yarn carried by the shuttle tube at the end of each stroke of said shuttle tube to thereby form a loop of yarn at one side of the woven border, a knife arm adapted to out each loop formed on the looper on the next succeeding shuttle stroke of the shuttle tube to thereby form the fringe, a driven feed roller for advancing the woven border along said bed plate and causing the loop formed on the looper to be advanced against the knife arm to effect cutting of the loop and means for driving said needle assemblies, shuttle tube, feed roller and looper in timed relationship.

4. A machine for forming a rug fringe as set forth in claim 3 wherein said driving means for said shuttle bar reciprocably drives said bar at a rate of two cycles to every cycle of said needle assemblies.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,044,226 11/1912 Muller 139-118 2,055,553 9/1936 Nicolet 139-55 XR 2,987,019 6/1961 Felton l12-64 XR 3,084,643 4/1963 Caylor 112-64 JORDAN FRANKLIN, Primary Examiner.

H. HAMPTON HUNTER, Assistant Examiner. 

